


Sincerely, Alice Dibble

by asherall



Series: Nocturnal Letters [1]
Category: Nocturnal Academy Series - Ethan Somerville
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Letters, Other, Post-Canon, no Andre
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:02:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 9,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25997947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asherall/pseuds/asherall
Summary: Alice Dibble copes with the Professor's absence.(Takes place directly after 20: Universal Magick)
Series: Nocturnal Letters [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1886953
Comments: 7
Kudos: 1





	1. Prologue

Icarus,

It’s been thirty-three years. 

I wrote these letters to cope with everything that happened. I’m giving them to you because it only seems right; there’s so much I have to say. You don’t have to read all of them.

I’d write more, but I’m turning into a blubbering mess. Time to leave,

Alice


	2. Letter One

Icarus Abbacus.

YOU LEFT. How could you? After all that happened, you should have . . .

Well, no. You did what was best for you, and I could never ask you to put others’ needs above yours. And these circumstances were dire. You could have died. (I never thought I’d mean that literally . . .)

It’s been a week. I’ve been given two weeks off from University. Granted, it took a bit of loophole finding, but they would have understood either way. I’ve lost my best friend! And almost died! Again!

(Yes, I know that you aren’t actually dead. But you don’t want to be found, which means that you’ll be gone for a while. 36 years, again? I hope not.)

Toby, Carla, and Milly are too indifferent for my liking. They were hardly sad that you were gone, and moved on so quickly without understanding why I’m so upset. Toby even told me to “just get over the old bugger.” And they all think you’ll be back in a couple of months - by the end of the year at the latest.

They really don’t understand.

You’ve always been there for me. Even when problems struck, you would eventually come through and everything would be right in the world. You could bring me from miserable to happy in an instant - instant mood swings, I suppose, exacerbated by me being a teenager. A young and impressionable supernatural and whatnot. I’m not sure where that sentence meant to go . . .

Or why I’m writing to you? This is the sort of thing that diaries are for, I suppose, but this feels more personal than I diary. I know that you’ll be gone for longer than I could imagine. I know how much I’ll miss you. I know that it’ll be hard for things to feel right with you gone. This is my substitute for you. The substitute teacher. You can’t really be substituted, ever, but I suspect these pieces of paper will work just fine. I’d type them out, but it feels easier to rant by hand. It’s more personal. That suits me just fine.

I know that you’re trying to distance yourself from human sentiment right now. You’re telling yourself that you’ll be hidden until the end of the world, aren’t you? That you’ll never talk to humans again. Probably mentioning that I’m an exception while trying to ignore that I’m an exception. Using fancy language to avoid saying exactly what you mean. Some things never change.

I can’t use words to properly describe how much I miss you. I’ll try again later.

You wanted updates every night. Worse than my Mum, sometimes . . . 

God. I’m crying again.

I should sleep now,

Alice


	3. Letter Two

Icarus,

I’m going back to classes tomorrow. Or at least meeting with Professor Ashe. After all of this, I wouldn’t be surprised if he gave me my Master’s and called it a year. Thanks to you, I’ve had enough work experience to last a supernatural lifetime. (That wasn’t resentful. Thank you, really.)

I’m thinking of picking up another major. I could do Chemistry - that’s always been a favorite. Properly mingling that with Magick would open up a lot of possibilities. And I’ve heard that the program here does a little bit of that third year - but even then, not enough for it to really be Magick. It resembles a potions class.

I don’t want to go back. I do - you know how curious I’ve always been about everything - but it’s like going back into the real world after being in a coma. Or meditating for God-knows-how-many years. I’ve hardly spoken to anyone, or even left the apartment. They’ve tried to get me to leave, and even all came in to bring me dinner once, but . . .

I’m the odd one out of them again. Toby and Carla are still dating, so third-wheel-ititis isn’t abnormal when I’m around them, but Milly had always been someone I could get along with. She has a girlfriend, now, so they’re all wrapped up in whatever. I don’t even know. Dinner was so awkward that we were all rushing to get away from each other. And they really don’t understand what I’m so upset about - they aren’t even trying. One would think they would, given how you  ~~ were ~~ are my best friend. 

They kept giving me frightened glances and varied between “not care” and “treat her like a ticking time bomb.” It’s like I’m Unlucky Alice again. Again! And here I thought that was put behind me. I suppose the real test will be seeing how the few people I see look at me tomorrow. If the halls and restaurants clear as soon as I walk near them - well, then that’s how things will be.

I might go to the library. Might. That used to be one of my safe places - back in Australia - but nowadays it looks so fragile. I made a point of avoiding it, but if I’m going to keep living up here, I might as well get something out of it. It looks like an M C Escher print met . . . you, I suppose. Did you ever bother to go in there? I’m not sure it’s really worth the hassle. I want to read, dammit, not get a workout!

Magick takes so much energy already. Still on Fifth-circle spells - I’ve memorized enough of them - but I think I can start on Sixth-circle. Sixth!

That long period without any communication with you was only touched by lesson plans. Nothing in this time . . .

Bloody hell. I miss you so much. I miss talking to you. I miss your silent company. I miss your scent - never thought I’d miss that mix of burning oil, steel, and hot brass - or that warm metallic feel. (THAT doesn’t sound right . . .) Everything. The contraptions that barely made sense, that laboratory of yours that seemed like it wasn’t on Earth. Dealing with whatever strange journeys we went through.

It’s only been two weeks, but I know you’ll be gone for much longer. And it’s killing me.

Sincerely,

Alice Dibble


	4. Letter Three

Dear Icarus,

Another week has gone by. I’d say I got back into the swing of things, but that’s a lie. 

They gave me my Master’s - almost as if they wanted me to get out of school. I’m sticking around for another year to take a few more classes. All for fun, not even caring if I pass or fail. (That’s a lie and you know it. I can’t  not pass them.) Organic Chemistry I, Neuroscience I, Linear Algebra, Experimental Modern Magick, and Correcting Daydweller Literature. That’s just for this term. It’s a heavier workload, but they’re fun classes. Correcting Lit is hilarious. Small group of students - most people aren’t majoring in lit, much less taking non-gen-ed classes - but we’re all having a good time. I’m having to do a bit of makeup work (seeing as I missed a month’s worth of classes), but I think it’s worth it.

This past week was so busy that it was only when I put schoolwork away and opened up a computer to remember that you wouldn’t be there. Same routine each day. Everybody keeps treating me like a bomb that could go off at any moment. I can excuse Milly and her girlfriend, but Toby and Carla are assholes. Not quite - I take that back. They’ve tried to be better in the past week and brought over meals every day. And Carla forces me to have good hygiene. Seriously. She learned one First-circle spell - soap - and casts it if I haven’t met her standards. Ugh. Were-creatures and their determination . . .

Okay. I might be overreacting to their lack of visible reaction. Irrational human emotions and whatnot.

And I’m slogging through this past weeks work. Yes, I show up to classes and do what I have to do and turn all my work and get good marks, but it’s far from enjoyable. There’s no reason to do any of it. It sweeps me up, but I go back down to Earth as soon as I remember everything else. I can’t enjoy any of it. I’m only doing these classes to try to keep my mind off of things. It works, but barely. And I know that ignoring emotions isn’t the right way to deal with them. 

Though I suppose that might be what you’re doing right now. You’re all caught up in experiments and what not to cope with everything that’s happened. Are you trying to ignore everything, or are you using that to move on? Healthy or unhealthy coping? (You mothered me enough; it’s my turn to be concerned.) Maybe you’ll get something good out of this - no, knowing you you will get something good out of this. Mana generators? Improved immortality machines? Other ways of resurrecting people? More Necromancy?

That reminds me. I did go to the library. It was a pain in the arse - barely made it through the second floor before grabbing a random book and leaving.  An Overview of Insubstantial Creatures (the book I grabbed) seems to hint at Necromancy without directly saying anything. It’s short, but absolutely fascinating. If this is Necromancy, I can see exactly why you’ve learnt it. Less so as to why it’s become so forbidden - like everything else, it’s only bad if the user uses it to do evil things. Most of it elaborates on Eldritch’s explanations from when I had to take him to see you. I doubt that there’s anything in here that you don’t already know.

It might be vaguely connected to my Experimental Modern Magick (EMM, for my sake) class. There’s a lot of Daydweller witchcraft mixed in. They’ve spent the past month learning about sigils, which seems like something we could have learned a long time ago. The next unit is on using them to create fictional creatures which are - you guessed it - insubstantial.

We’re supposed to have developed a creature by next week. I’ve been trying, but all of my drafts look like you and/or demons. I know that I can just put together something silly, but all of them are part cyborg or have too many tentacles for me to want to deal with. 

See? What am I supposed to draw - a piece of chalk with legs? Slenderman? Something out of a movie? A Dalek could work, but we get bonus points for originality and those aren’t original.

I know that if I could talk to you right now, you would say something and my mind would be espurring off somewhere to create something completely original. And that everything else that’s happening wouldn’t be happening right now. I’d probably be working in the Australian Academy as a teacher and as your assistant. I wouldn’t be taking these classes - I’d be reading books and soaking up whatever other information I could get from you. Maybe I’d be experimenting on my own. Working towards a PhD? I could right now, but it seems even more pointless. People can put arbitrary labels on the amount of education someone has received all day, but it only ever means anything if it’s practical. Done practically. The amount of field work. You know what I mean.

Miss me - I mean - Wish me . . . luck, I suppose. (Shush.)

Sincerely,

Alice Dibble


	5. Letter Four

Professor Abbacus,

I fucked up. There’s no other way of putting it.

As I said ~two months ago, we were going to be summoning fictional creatures in EMM. However, things went . . . off. That’s an understatement. 

I started with sigils that were supposed to summon a creature that was, in some sense, a flying angler fish. With fur. And with fewer teeth - nothing quite as terrifying as the original creature. There were five other students. One created something resembling a cross between a octopus and pigeon; another, a polar bear and a peacock; another, a carrot and a penguin; yet another, a flying spaghetti monster (seriously); the last, a creature resembling Medusa. (Yes, there are only six of us in the class. The teacher had been using a deer-starfish as an example throughout the month. It was pretty cool.)

The problem came with Medusa. The person was a bit  too specific. They added a sigil for her eyesight to turn people to stone. The teacher - as experienced as she was - wasn’t expecting that sigil to work. (And they still would have Medusa if that sigil didn’t work.)

Needless to say, we started panicking. I cast up a few spells that were supposed to protect us from Medusa. Given how things always turn out, I messed up and one of them backfired, turning the person who summoned Medusa to stone. Which meant that there wasn’t anyone who could control it. The teacher - did I mention that she was on the younger side? Only in her early thirties - used some Magick that should have put a barrier around Medusa until she could safely get rid of her. (And, given that this is EMM, she wanted to study it a little bit more.)

Except one of my other spells - and I can’t remember what exactly it was - interfered with that. I don’t know what happened after that, since I haven’t quite heard the whole story. I’ve been in the infirmary for the past two months. They had a hard time figuring out how to turn us “stoned” students into living things again.

So that’s where I’ve been these past few months. Even farther behind on schoolwork. I have even more catchup work to do, all of which is due “as soon as supernaturally possible.” It looks like I’ll be pulling all-nighters for a full week, at a minimum. And skipping even more classes! Ugh. On the plus side, EMM is being condensed because all of us were out. We’re skipping the rest of the sigil-creature units and moving on to “subconscious magic.” All I know is that it isn’t quite the same as Magick, and that Daydwellers have done a lot more research on this than we have. 

After this school year is over, I’m taking one  long break. Maybe then I’ll be free from random disasters. The term’s over in . . . a month or two? I’m not sure. But after next term, I’ll have the time to take a break. 

And teachers are already pestering us about next term’s classes! I think I’ll take O-chem II, but no more Neuroscience. I’ve gotten next to nothing out of my short-time in class, and what I have got has left me bored out of my mind. The Linear Algebra teacher suggests that we do Abstract Algebra or Real Analysis next. Not sure which one, but I’ll definitely be taking one of them. The EMM teacher has a few other introductory level classes that I’ve already learned, but she does have another class on Runes that looks interesting. It’s all a different sort of Magick. She described it as “a language class on steroids with Magick.” Lovely. But it looks like something I could easily learn in my own time . . .

Thanks to my “recommendations” (from you?), I’m qualified to take the Exploring Nightdweller Geography class. Lots of work in the astral planes. The teacher pretty much asked me to take the class - he said that he knew you. Professor Gerald Birch? A tree spirit (as if his name didn’t give that away). The two of you saw eye to eye on same things, according to him. (He wasn’t specific, but I’d guess that it had to do with Necromancy? He also wants to “catch up with me sometime.” Kind of sounded a little suspicious, but he also doesn’t seem like he has bad intentions.)

Okay, I can hear you now. “For someone who might as well have been asleep for two months, you have a lot to say.” Yes, yes I do. I’ve been asleep for two months. I want to talk to somebody. “What about Toby and Carla and Milly?”

Carla was worried. Toby and Milly, less so. Toby has an “It’ll be alright in the end” attitude. And I haven’t seen Milly. Carla thinks that had something to do with her crossing over to the other Earth again? Her and Rusty (the girlfriend) had some plans that they’ve been very busy with. Busy enough to have hardly noticed that I’ve been gone - but just not busy enough to be missing out on classes. I think she has a problem with me.

Carla, at least, visited me every day for the first week, and then once a week since. She’s still mothering after me now that I’m out of the infirmary. Bringing me all of my meals and a stack of homework. She certainly gets the “catching up on far too much work.” Thanks to her I’ve been able to catch up on two weeks in two days.

She’s at the door now . . . I think I smell a cinnamon roll.

Sincerely,

Alice Dribble


	6. Letter Five

Icarus,

It’s the end of the term! Term two starts after this two-week break. It doesn’t seem long enough, but after that hectic mess that term one was getting away from school for two weeks seems like a blessing. And I  _ am _ getting away - back to Australia for a full week, then spending another week in the University.

First off, course selection. O-chem II was pretty much a given - it was enjoyable, I’m glad to continue doing it. Also Inorganic Chemistry. Not entirely sure where I will end up going with all of these chemistry classes, but I’ve liked studying it so far. Abstract Algebra also ended up on the list. (At this point, I might as well be a Chem major at a Daydweller school . . .) Last but not least: Exploring Nightdweller Geography. Only four classes, but that’ll be better than last term. More time to do things outside of schoolwork. Hopefully I won’t get wrapped up in anything else again . . . no more Medusa creatures or Nightdweller/Magick extinctions or people leaving for an unknown period of time.

Yes, that’s a dig at you. Is it really that surprising that you leaving messed me up that much? I relied on you a lot throughout my time in school. Not having you around took away all my support systems. And while I’m coping by writing you letters, there needs to be a better way to move on without actually ignoring you or cutting you out of my life. But why do you have to be gone for so long? You’ll come back in your own time - I know that - but that doesn’t mean that I have to  _ like _ that. I miss you. A lot. Words cannot properly describe how much I wish that you were here and that I could actually go to you with all of my problems. What would you have had to say about course selections? What advice would you have given? Would you have forced me to stop after I got my degree? And if not, would I have been a statue for two months? One can only wonder . . .

No, you might have just left me there to force me to take a break. How many times did you tell me that? Every summer break. “Dribble, go somewhere away from this school.” “Dribble, for your own sake, get out of the lab.” “Dribble, if I see you in any library this month, I’ll send you to the sub-astral plane.” “Dribble, I will not let you access your books from the restricted section - including the ones you need for homework - until you take a nap.” Oh, all of those times. You were worse than my mother. Remember that time you showed up at my home during break - between year nine and ten(?)? You barged in there and locked my homework and computer in some safe that wouldn’t open for a week. I swear, Mum would have proposed to you right then and there if she  _ didn’t _ have Harry. 

I haven’t seen her - or anybody else in Australia - since that volcano incident. I’m staying with my family for the week. Still stopping by the Nocturnal Academy - already arranged that with Professors Longenfang & McDingley. They want to do something about your lab, and thought that I was the best person to talk to about that. “The only one who can walk through here without messing things up and sending half the school to the Immaterium,” according to McDingley. I can only hope that he’s right. Certainly don’t want another Tunguska to happen. I guess it’s time for me to learn about everything that you had stored in there. And they want all of it to move out at some point. Longenfang added an “or . . .” that McDingley quickly shushed. I hope they weren’t thinking up something too strange. (Unless it was something to do with those spells you used to wrap up the entire thing? But I wouldn’t trust myself with using any sort of Tesseract spell on your lab.)

Speaking of labs - how disorganized is your new one? I know that both times I was in your Paradise things were a bit of a mess. Everything looked like it was about to explode. I’m not sure how everything that you do can ignore the laws of physics so glibly, but it might be time to back off on that. I know, I know, you’ve been doing this for a few centuries and there’s no need to change. But - if I’m right - you’re on the astral plane. You can do whatever you want. And you don’t have me to help you dig through things anymore. (Unless fic-Del’s back?)

Right. Carla’s at the door right now - we’re all flying home together.

Sincerely,

Alice Dibble

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just like in Icarus' fifth letter, Alice's fifth letter gives a glimpse of how much I'm changing that was canon. Andre no longer being part of the picture had a *lot* of consequences.  
> (And I'm a pantser, so who knows what all of those consequences will be.)


	7. Letter Six

Icarus Abbacus,

What the hell is in your lab?

I meant to visit family for a week, but no. Looking through your lab kept causing me more and more trouble. You taught me bits and pieces about everything in there, but even knowing more than everybody else is the equivalent of knowing almost nothing. I can explain how things work, but what to do with them is an entirely different matter. I can’t tear up every part of your lab - that’d probably bring you back tomorrow out of sheer anger - but they can’t just leave it there. More teachers will come and go, after all, and there isn’t quite unlimited room for us to use. (We can’t all be like you and defy the laws of physics every day.)

However, there was another possibility that Longenfang brought up. Staff numbers are low enough that they had to recruit an ex-Necronite for Arcane Arts and Tooth & Claw. However, they’ll gladly add anyone to staff. That includes me.

Yep.

You’re talking to the new Science and Arcane Arts teacher. (I stole your job! Ha!)

Mr. Igneous and Mr. Coleman already offered to help me with lesson plans. I was able to find most of your old ones, thankfully, but editing these is going to be a pain in the arse. I don’t think I could be quite as strict as you were - but at the same time, I hardly know where to start. And while the expectations of teaching at the Nocturnal Academy are low, filling your shoes is an entirely different task. Certainly ditching the physics heavy curriculum. Chemistry is more of my thing . . .

However, this does leave me with the option of moving into your lab. Adding a side room, since I need somewhere to sleep (ain’t undead, after all), and moving most of these things around. Hope it won’t end up being too “disorganized” for you. Just hope that I don’t accidentally explode something and end up sending half the school to the Immaterium in the process. I’ve only been able to get a little bit of work done, since I had to go back to Uni, but I’ll have to finish up after this term. (I have my own lab! Excuse me while I become increasingly excited.)

The only problem I keep having is that I get lost in memories. Every machine you described to me brings up the exact circumstances in which you described them. Silly sentiment, I know, but that’s living people for you. And I started to feel bad about moving machines and other experiments to the side. Sure, all of this is to make room for my own things, but they’re your things! It’s like I’m moving you to the side and getting ready to forget about you. I can’t do that to you. Not now. Not ever.

(Please put away your lecture on coping with problems. You went off for thirty six years to cope with your problems. And that’s what you’re doing right now. I’m already doing better than you. Shush! I’m busy. Fine, you know I’m not really busy. Get out of my head. See, I’m laughing now. I knew this was worth something.)

I’m back at the university for a week before term starts. Not catching up with anybody, really, just sitting around and getting ready for the term. I’d like to skim the textbooks for next term. Maybe pick up a few more books from the library. Starting to get the hang of visiting that place.

Sincerely,

Alice Dribble


	8. Letter Seven

Dear Icarus Abbacus,

School starts tomorrow. I’m not in any way as prepared as I would like to be. Yes, I read all of my textbooks and took notes on the first chapters. I took a look at the syllabi and sent them to my planner (which I’m in the process of upgrading. More on that later). I have the “total” list of suggested reading. In other words, I’ve done everything except take notes and do homework. (And I’ve even done some of that.)

Okay, so you remember that weird planner I built sometime 8th year? The one that’s essentially a digital planner for overachievers? I’m working on turning it into a proper computer. Ok, more of a tablet, but that’s still a computer. I almost have email working. The problem is with adding custom formatting options. (Granted, I hardly care about that, but having to go in and change the code every time I want to change formatting is a pain.) After that is messaging. Then a notepad. Portable lab. The world. Nothing important.

I made some progress on creating lesson plans. Yes, I’m mostly copying yours, but I’m updating them a little. And changing things. For example, students are expected to memorize (most of) the periodic table by the end of seventh year. You said that we weren’t expected to memorize it, but it would have made labs and whatnot easier if everybody else had memorized it. Same with polyatomic ions for eighth year. And a proper unit on ecology each year. Also condensing those few lectures that you had to give everybody. (You had an information overload. There’s a difference between what we need to know and what might be nice to know for a select few students.)

The Arcane Arts curriculum is just fine. Then again, it’s always been a bit of an independent study class because of the subject matter. 

Was there anything else happening here? 

Oh yeah. Ran into Professor Birch at the library. That was quite literal. One of the staircases wanted to send me to a different floor; it connected to a different staircase that he was running up. Down? Who knows. (Nobody). He had a book that looked like it was rotting. He tried to talk to me, but then I asked about the book he had. He was suddenly in a rush to leave but wants to see me after class on the first day. Sounds sketchier every minute I see him, but that’s Nocturnal University professors for you.

Do you remember him? What could he possibly have to tell me about you that I don’t know? (A bit, but I know most of the important bits. You’ve never mentioned him anyways . . .)

There isn’t anybody else who I’ve seen who wants to talk to me about you. Surprising, but I suppose the Technomancy department wants to avoid anything remotely connected to you. And most people hold enough distaste for you to want to avoid people who miss you. Or respect? Something along those lines. (I’m tired, if it wasn’t obvious enough . . .)

Good night. (Or meditations, if we care about accuracy.)

Sincerely,

Alice Dibble


	9. Letter Eight

Professor,

I feel bad for not writing for however many months this has been. It’s been hectic. Busy. Nothing happened that was going to kill me, thank God, other than that large pile of assignments. Even though I’m taking fewer classes than I did last semester, it feels like I’m even busier. Most of that could be blamed on Exploring Nightdweller Geography and Professor Birch. More on him later. On the other hand, those chemistry classes also became more difficult as we went along. I struggled with some of the stuff that we were working on (in both classes). Shocking, I know, but it took me a bit longer than usual to nail down a few things. A lot of time was spent (finding and) doing extra practice problems to be prepared for exams. (It didn’t help that one of the chemistry teachers was a vampire who started accelerated aging early on in the semester. He made it to the end, but it was tough on everybody in class.)

Abstract Algebra was a whirlwind, and I barely know what Abstract Algebra is by now. And I just took a class in it! The professor claimed that it would make more sense if we took her Algebraic Topology class next, but that isn’t an option for me right now. Maybe I’ll read about it in the future. The whole going to school but as a teacher next year is going to be strange. (And weird to not have you there. Yes, I’m literally moving into your lab, but that isn’t the same as walking down to visit every day.)

Okay. Time to go through Exploring Nightdweller Geography. And Professor Birch. I’ll start with the class.

It seemed like a relatively straightforward class. There were seven other students to start with. Fairly typical. We were just going to learn how to navigate the different planes. Those of us who knew Magick (all bar two) were going to visit the Immaterium at one point. Then there were a few lectures on Magick Earth. We couldn’t go there (for obvious reasons), but he had gone there in the past and learned a bit more than the average book wants to talk about.

You’ve picked up on how we were going to do some things. The problem was that Professor Birch was new to teaching the class. While he was using the previous teacher’s outline, he wanted to add some new things to the class and make it as interesting as it deserved to be. Instead of spending the first month traveling the different planes, we spent them learning how to naturally access the different planes. It only took a month for all of us to be able to do it reliably. There was one scare where someone might have been properly lost in the wrong plane, but it turned out that they had wandered off a little to find the rest of us (who weren’t yet there). While doing that, we had to do a lot of reading and visit the library every day. (He claimed that that would help us feel more comfortable when things went weird. It helped some of us, but the rest still struggled with things going weird. And I can comfortably walk around the library! It’ll be so weird to go back to a normal library after this.)

Learning how to get in and out of the planes made the next two months easier. They were all on the Astral Planes, which were as bizarre as they’ve always been. Not much else to say there. Everybody had their share of missteps, but there was nothing life threatening.

The basement was the bizarre one. We only went there twice, since Professor Birch was worried about things going wrong there (and us losing our sanity). Because of how everything works down there, we were all there on our own. Professor Birch might have had too much fun with that, since there was a couple there that was a bit too attached to each other. 

The first time I went there was like that time I had to chase after you. Strange fairytales gone wrong.

The second time, on the other hand . . .

I honestly thought I saw you. 

It was like a messed up game of hide and seek. Silly, right? I should have been able to remember that it was highly unlikely that it was actually you hiding for me to “find” you. But I got caught up in chasing after you, even though it was impossible. The minute I saw Voldemort on the back of your head, I realized that it wasn’t actually you. Then there was the mark of Necronis on your head, more stuff about Necronis . . . I couldn’t get out of there fast enough. I was so thoroughly shocked after that that Professor Birch sent me to the infirmary. There wasn’t anything wrong, though someone thought I might have had a panic attack. I don’t know. It wasn’t a great situation to be in.

That episode sent me in a bit of a funk. Not for very long, thankfully, but I was just so out of it that Professor Birch was concerned. (I’ll get to him after I finish talking about his class).

The last bit was in the Immaterium. One week. “Field trip.” Everybody got to go. Professor Birch had a bit of a tesseract spell thing similar to what you did, but not quite so much ignorance for the laws of physics. There actually wasn’t anything notable! (Which is pretty notable.) 

Okay. Now for Professor Birch.

His interest in Necromancy was ridiculously high. All he wanted to know was if you had taught me anything. When I mentioned the Immortality Machine, he jumped on that almost right away. He stepped down on that soon enough, thankfully. Most of his interest lied in already undead creatures. I was able to direct him to a few books, but I know about as much as he does. He let me ramble about you for a bit during the couple of times I talked to him. He saw how much I missed you and let me ramble from there. He contributed a little bit, but there wasn’t much conversation going on on both sides. Just awkward discussions. It was nice to get to talk to someone about you. Toby and Carla (and Milly) weren’t around much this semester. So much Tooth and Claw stuff going on. And then they have their own expanding groups of friends that I’m not really a part of.

Oh! My planner is now a proper computer. I’ve even got it backing up books for me. It makes a lovely reader and is much more convenient than hunting down library books that I want to take another look at. (It’s legal. I checked. Gotta love Nightdweller copyright laws.)

On that note, it’s about time for me to go to bed.

Sincerely,

Dribble

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i don't even know what to write for prof. abbacus. maybe more planets? ending up in a different universe? more adventures with not del? find out next update . . .


	10. Letter Nine

Icarus,

How did you stand being a teacher? 

I’m a bit jealous. You go hole up in the Kingdom of Joy for however long ya want, while I have to sit here and teach these  _ idiots _ about basic science. One would think that some of those fancy Nightdweller families would have had tutors to teach them basic things, but no. Nobody seems to know anything. Even the Daydwellers are idiots. Did we just take in the worst of the worst? Or is it like this every year? Not to mention that the “older” students have no respect for me. At least I can give them detention for calling me “Unlucky Alice.” (Being creative, somebody added the name “Professor Drabbacus” to the list of names. Apparently I’m just as cruel as you were.)

Right. There are (almost literally) no complaints I can make about the students here that you don’t already know. Every new kid is an idiot. There is no smart kid right off the bat. I sure hope someone shows some potential, or else everybody’s going to Mr. Coleman’s this year and I won’t have a class of seventh years to teach this year. Ugh. Albrecht (that feels weird to write/say) said that I’m channeling you, and that that’s the main reason why everybody seems to be an idiot. They do just fine in the rest of their classes, apparently, but they’re all fools as soon as they walk in here. On top of a series of pranks (re: whoopie cushions), several of them immediately took to shouting out obviously wrong answers in class. For example, someone said that “O” was ice cream. And that was only on the first day of class. They really should know that “O” is oxygen, and certainly isn’t ice cream. 

Then some of the “older” students (the ones who knew me at some point) have been going back to muttering things that are less than polite. Probably akin to the things that you’ve been called. Seems like most of the students really do hate me.

(Teaching at the school I used to go to is weird.)

On a different “slide” (haha), I’ve been modifying your lab. The easy part was adding a sideroom so that I had somewhere to sleep. Then there was the whole “turning the front into a proper office” where I had to do some (easy) cleaning. It’s much more usable than the mess you had. Don’t worry, I filed away all of your papers. This place will be properly organized. So much so that you won’t be able to find anything. 

The hard part has been your mess of machinery. I’ve divided this place into more rooms (closets, really). Most of my break was spent filing all of your books, papers, and notebooks. I found some stuff of yours that appeared to be from some lit classes you tick in the 1940s . . . never struck me as your sort of thing, but okay. There’s a whole index I put together that’ll make finding whatever stuff you need much easier. 

I did find some of your notes on experiments. Your attempts at a catalogue for this are hilarious, but are useful for me to figure out what to do with everything. Some of this stuff cannot keep running forever, no matter how much either of us wish it could. 

Oh, and you have your own room now. Granted, you share it with the Immortality Machine, but it’s much less disconcerting than having you sit around in some corner. And it feels more . . . respectful to have put you somewhere proper.

Right.

This is moderately incoherent. I’m tired.

Sincerely,

Professor Dibble

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> on that note, prof. abbacus should have something to say soon.


	11. Letter Ten

Dear Icarus,

Can you believe it? Nothing has gone wrong this school year! No gremlins or accidental summonings or life threatening activities. Nothing was sent to the Immaterium, nobody was trapped in the Astral Plane, and nobody went off to meditate for twelve years.

(Wait a minute . . .)

And other than all the time I’ve spent wallowing in self pity (your fault), I’ve hardly been busy. Once all of my science classes collectively got their acts together, things balanced out to normal. Most of them even passed their exams. Something that you could never do; no offense, sir, but you weren’t the easiest grader in the school. Funny how much higher grades people get when they have two hours to do fifty multiple choice questions, eight short answers, and one essay. Three essay prompts, even. Too easy for them, I’m sure, but about eighty percent finished the exam. Of those, ninety percent received passing grades. Hah!

It’s almost been another whole year since I last wrote to you. I had to push you into the back of my head (hard to do when I’m living in your lab) to continue moving on with my life. Nobody to talk to. Albrecht tried but he still thinks of me as another student. (Not literally). None of the teachers are sure of what to think of me being a teacher. I’m too young. Maybe I’ll be fine thirty years from now . . .

Right then. (Ouch! A cactus just stabbed me.) I’ve been doing a bit of experimenting with cacti (if you could call it that; more like doing random things to cacti until something goes dreadfully wrong). May have stumbled upon a sort of “superformula” for cactus growth. I was playing around with soil mixtures and Magick until this one cactus shot up at me. Seriously shot. Doubled its height in a minute. Impressive. Now I need to find a better way of controlling it, since it gets really wonky when it comes to other plants. Some mix of speeding up growth and doubling size? Like I said, wonky.

Tree spirits love it, though. I left one cactus in the classroom one day and the soil was like a tree spirit magnet. Hard to explain, but that ain’t happening again. I still have a bit more work to do until I figure out all of the fine details about it. Might have to write up a paper somewhere on it.

On a different note, my computers should be replacing yours. Not this coming school (unless I work fast enough), but the next one. If I can get some of my mass production equipment working properly, it could be this school year. Nothing against your computers, mind you, but people are starting to look for sleeker devices. Clunky steampunk machinery is aesthetically pleasing and all, but devices that are faster and lighter are much more efficient. We might do a trial run with the ninth years, but nobody’s sure yet. Some of them are worried about putting this new technology in their hands and forcing them to get used to something different just after they got the hang of your machines. I’m voting for the seventh years, seeing as they’re new and won’t have to switch devices eighth year.

The real problem will be getting all of the machine elementals to move. Some of them are eager to get out of your machines (seriously. I was surprised too) but others want to stay in your devices. Grr. I’ll deal with them when the time comes.

The other change is that students will use the same computer every year. It’ll make storage much easier. Gone are the days of taking the devices and manually uploading all of the information “just in case” someone wants to access last year's notes later in time. And eighth years and above will get to take them home during breaks. Maybe it’s because they look normal enough that nobody questions their functionality. (Mum called that phone you made “positively primeval.” These, on the other hand, are the sleekest computers she’s set her eyes on.)

While the computers won’t have an internet browser the way Daydweller computers do, they will have access to all of the books that have been scanned in from the library system. I’ve put together a search engine that works well. Could be better, but it’s a significant improvement over the old stuff.

My family is still ridiculously weary of me. I didn’t notice it at first, since I was caught up in Uni work and then the lab and the school year, but now it’s so clear that I can’t believe I never saw it. They don’t think that anything is wrong with me, per say, they just don’t trust me. I kept too many secrets from them, should have told them sooner, what ifs galore. Irritating. Yet another group of people who refuse to interact with me on the basis of me being a weirdo. At least it leaves me with plenty of time to sit in the lab and brood. I might have a degree in brooding, at this rate. I spend so much time doing it and trying not to do it that I’m such a mess and cannot do much of anything anymore because I don’t want to, not when there’s anyone who cares about what I’m doing. Oh, they try, but none of them understand. Some of them still resent you. Most people do, but that comes as no surprise to you, but did you have to work so hard at alienating everyone? You did it so much that it seems to have gone around and alienated me. They joke about me being your clone (mini Abbacus, Abbacus the Second, and several rude things that make me want to punch people) but I seem to have turned around and properly become a clone of you. Did you implant one of your brains in my while I wasn’t watching? Did I do that when I was cleaning out the lab? Nobody knows, but there are days where I start to wish that I never met you and that I had a normal time in school and that everything turned out just fine and I didn’t graduate early and my family didn’t hate me and everybody was pleasant to my face (and behind my back; a startling number of people don’t bother with either).

Of course you had the option to run away from all of this. But I’m not undead; I cannot just go off into the corners of the Astral Plane for eighty odd years and never be seen by anyone. Can’t I just see you again? Can’t I just go back to that place of happily ever after that seemed to only exist when you were in the room?

What about Toby and Carla and Milly? Gone. All busy with Uni work. I sent each of them emails a few times, but they never responded and so I stopped sending them. Nobody knows what to do with me. Even I don’t. So I try to throw myself into all of these projects (I think I can finish the computers before next school year) but fail from time to time and end up going into this mess that you “see” before you.

Sincerely,

Alice 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> eep.


	12. Work Log (1)

PROFESSOR ALICE DIBBLE

TIME: 12/1/20 to 12/24/20

STUDENTS:

  * Bertrand Adile: discussed cheating. Will redo final until he meets standards. Sent to Mr. Coleman’s next year.
  * Patricia Welf: discussed cheating. Will redo final until she meets standards. Sent to Mr. Coleman’s next year.
  * Ferdinand Kiln: discussed cheating. One month scullery duty. Will not be placed in classes with Mr. Adile unless there are scheduling conflicts.
  * Henry Craal: will tutor ½ hour on Fridays starting in January. Has already mastered cantrips.
  * Celia Maddock: met w/ parents on 12/3. Sent materials. Will take final on 12/29. 40 or higher to Mr. Coleman; 70 or higher continue higher. May have to repeat.



TEACHING:

  * Fixed year 9 unit 1 slides.
  * Fixed year 7 Planes presentations.
  * Additional information on year 10 Chemistry.
  * Outlined Organic Chemistry. Needs to be an option for the 2022 school year.
  * Submitted work experience proposals. Will know by March.



TECHNOLOGY:

  * Fixed internet problem.
  * Fixed library search.
  * Uploaded Flora & Fauna section.
  * Updated Senior Library security.
  * Added stylus to computers.
  * Finished computers. Imported through year 9. Others are working on years 10 through 12; plan to be done before school starts.



OTHER:

  * Fixed fungus problem. Kept sample; will test later.
  * Ran additional soil tests. Sent information to Prof. Yew. He plans to send back information by the end of January. May meet with other Uni faculty in March (results depending).
  * Prototype of Magick computer.
  * Added monitor to Mirror. Will notify depending on findings. Still stuck.
  * Worked on Tesseract.



**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alice's been busy . . . perhaps too busy. welp. that's drowning out prof. abbacus for you.


	13. Narrative (1)

There’s a knock on the door.

“I’m busy!”

She continued casting spells. The soil machine had to be finished tonight. There were a few odd and end things to do to it before she added an interface and keyboard. After that she could recreate the soil mixtures with ease and never bother with trying to figure out what exactly changed. As the mutant soil showed, there were some plants that interacted with the soil (as opposed to the soil impacting the plant; all of this was weird and not making sense). Professor Yew would be able to tell her a bit more than her machines could, but he wouldn’t get back to her until the end of January.

Someone banged on the door. "Open up!"

"Go away!" There weren't any reasons for someone to be banging on the door at this hour. It was one of the few nights of the year where there wouldn't be any catastrophic events. And one of the few nights where it was unlikely for other people to be at the school. Everybody liked to go home to their families at this time of year. Few of them had families in Australia.

"Ica - Alice Dibble, ifyou know what's good for you - "

She stomped over and opened the door. "If you know what's good for _you_ \- oh, hello, Albrecht. I seem to remember you having elaborate vacation plans involving a certain -"

"Yes, and I also know what Icarus was like at this -"

"Ms. Vixen. Shouldn't you be -"

"- time of year."

"- anywhere but here."

"You've proved my point. You're grouchy, irritable, mopey, lonely, and holing up in your lab because of some meaningless experiment."

"Get out."

"Exactly like him. You're drowning yourself in your work and you're swimming in a sea of self-pity. All of us know that something's up. Staff and students. Yes, they mock you over your growing number of resemblances to your predecessor, but they have a point. You cannot spend all of your days -"

"You've been drinking."

" - holed up in your lab! It works for some people, but it isn't working for you. When was the last time you ate a proper meal?"

"Ms. Vixen must have put you up to this."

"What are you eating?"

"Sandwiches. Cereal. I have a fridge full of food."

"You're thinner than the average vampire and always look like you're about to pass out. This isn't healthy."

"I've never felt better. Now, couldn't you leave? I'm busy, and I'm sure you have better things to do with your time than investigate my eating habits."

"No, I'm not done investigating your eating habits." He pushed past her and began looking for the food she claimed to have in the crowded laboratory. It was more organized than Icarus' lab, but it seemed to be even larger. "Weres know the importance of eating, even when we're moping around."

"What are you doing? Don't touch anything!"

He pushed open a curtain and found a kitchenette. He opened the fridge, then dug through the cabinets. "A bottle of bourbon, some apples, and a box of crackers isn't even a meal."

"Well, it's been three weeks since I restocked."

"There's a fully staffed kitchen upstairs. If they saw this, you wouldn't be left out of their sight for a week. Not to mention that all staff are supposed to come to every meal."

"If you didn't notice, I reworked our entire computer system in a month, transferred most of the student files, and am otherwise busy with -"

"Ignoring basic health? You have to admit that your behavior is unhealthy. You aren't eating enough. I'd wager that you aren't sleeping enough either, or getting enough physical activity in. Have you even left the lab since school got out?"

"I'm not ignoring basic health. Vampires can get energy without eating. I'm doing just fine. Now, if you'd excuse me, I have better things to do than listen to you critique my life."

"Yet you're entertaining my conversation."

She could feel herself starting to shake.

"What would Icarus think if he saw you right now?"

She turned away. "Get out."

She heard his footsteps start to trail away, then -

"I expect to see you at all meals once school starts. And get some sleep. You shouldn't be pacing around at this time of day."

When the door closed, she couldn't stop crying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> things are about to start getting better.


	14. Letter Eleven

Dear . . . God, I don't even know _who_ I'm writing to anymore. You? Myself? Someone else who broke into the lab and keeps reading these letters? Some other omnipresent being?

Right. Take a breathe, regroup, recap.

Albrecht stormed into the lab and said (in a long, convoluted way) that I was killing myself and had to get my act together Or Else. Or else what, I'm not sure, but part of me wasn't surprised that someone said something. The rest of me was surprised, and more than a bit annoyed. I'm doing JUST FINE, thank you very much, and I've been more productive than I normally have the time to be. It's funny how much more time you can gain when you slack off on normal human (supernatural, I suppose) functions. Sleep deprivation does amazing things. I see the appeal in being undead - honestly, that would be amazing. Who needs food! Okay, some form of magical sustenance or whatnot but my point is that it's too damn convenient to keep up that form of life. He was telling me that what I've done this past year isn't sustainable. Yadayadayada. (I'm tired.)

I'll start going to meals once school starts. I can live off of what I have until then (shut UP). Only a little more than a week until the students start polluting the halls again. I'll have better luck this year, or else I might end up quitting. No, not that. I won't have much luck getting a job anywhere else. I'm a teacher at the _Australian_ Nocturnal Academy. We all know how much distaste the other academies have for us disgusting swine. Oh, no. They're too good for us. Do you think they even learn Tooth & Claw up there? They'd all faint at the sight of blood, I'm sure . . . who knows how they even stand to participate in the Nocturnal Games. They probably took the "worst" students and sent them here. (I know that doesn't make any sense. Didn't I tell you to shut up already?)

Yes, I've had bad habits for most of this year. It was obvious. (How did anybody stand being around me? Oh, wait, I avoided all of them). But I'll sleep and eat and try that thing called time management that I was much better at when I was a student. I'm bad at being a good teacher, that's for sure . . . oh, okay, whatever.

What else.

Right. There's that student that I made a note of but did my best to ignore until he came up and asked to me. Has more guts than I gave him credit for. Some aptitude for Magick - his parents gave him a book of cantrips and things spiraled from there. He's only a seventh year now, but he has more than enough determination and interest. And patience, from what I remember him saying - he started meditating back in sixth year, apparently, and spent most of that year reading the cantrips and mentally reviewing him (not mental shaping, though I wouldn't be surprised if he had some aptitude for that). His parents are weres who weren't able to overcome Magickal resonance effect, but they seemed determined for him to learn it. He's some sort of vampire, somehow (how do supernatural genetics work? Maybe he was adopted? Then again, it would make sense for "vampire" to be the recessive gene, since there's more variety in weres. Something along those lines. I'm sure there's a book for me to track down tomorrow). Maybe there was an earth elemental's patience that got passed along at some point? Who the hell knows. I don't . . . yet.

Point? What point! (I think I'm high on sleep deprivation and research excitement.)

There. I will try to be better about taking care of myself TONIGHT. I'll promise you that much, Icarus.

Sincerely,

Alice Dibble

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's about time.


End file.
